{"id":749,"date":"2019-05-16T13:02:35","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T13:02:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=749"},"modified":"2019-05-16T13:02:48","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T13:02:48","slug":"19-may-2019-c-fifth-sunday-of-easter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sundayscriptureonline.com\/?p=749","title":{"rendered":"19 May 2019 (C) Fifth Sunday of Easter"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A. The Bible as\nGuide in Life and Liturgy (Sunday Readings)<\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. Reflection & Dialogue: <\/strong>A New Heaven and\nNew Earth yet to come. The kingdom\n of God already present.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. The Bible as Guide in Life and\nLiturgy (Sunday Readings)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Reading <\/em>(Acts 14:21-27). They gave an account to the church of all\nthat God had done with them. <\/em>During the Easter period the first readings\nfor the Sundays for all three years of the cycle are from the Acts of the\nApostles, from the beginning as far as the Council of Jerusalem (in Acts 15).\nThese readings invite Mass goers to familiarise themselves with Luke\u2019s account\nof the growth of the early Church. Today\u2019s reading is a continuation of last\nSunday\u2019s and recounts the return journey of Paul and Barnabas in what is known\nas Paul\u2019s first missionary journey. Some of the place names mentioned have already\nbeen encountered in last Sunday\u2019s readings. Paul and Barnabas began their\nmission at Antioch on the Orontes, went from\nthere to the island of Cyprus, then on to the mainland (present-day Turkey), to Perga in the district of Pamphylia,\non to Antioch\nin Pisidia, then to Iconium, Lystra and Derbe. Today\u2019s reading recounts the\nreturn journey. Paul and Barnabas were concerned with laying the foundations of\nthe Church, preparing the communities for future developments. All these\ncommunities had already experienced difficulties and persecutions. The two\napostles encourage them to persevere; persecution is part of Christian life.\nLuke also mentions the appointment of elders. What the function of these elders\n(also mentioned for Ephesus,\nActs 20:17) had is not clear, but it indicates some form of church\nadministration was set up by Paul and Barnabas. Paul seems to have done\nsomewhat similar at Philippi which had bishops\nand deacons or overseers and helpers (Philippians 1:1; the exact translation\nand their function are not clear). Governance in the early church will become\nmore organized after the death of the apostles (1 and 2 Timothy; Titus, with\n\u201cbishops and deacons\/overseers and helpers). Paul and Barnabas arrive at Antioch, and report to\nthe church there on their successful mission among the pagans. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responsorial Psalm <\/em>(Psalm\n144[145]). I will bless your name for\never, O God my king.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second Reading <\/em>(Apocalypse 21:1-5).\nGod will wipe away all tears from their\neyes.<\/em> The apocalyptic section of this book (the Revelation of John) is\nabout the conquest of evil by the Lamb that was slain, the victory of God over\nevil and the advent of the kingdom\n of God. After a\ndescription of the fall of Babylon,\nthe city of sin, and marriage of the Lamb and a reign of a thousand years (hard\nto interpret) John has a vision of a new heaven and a new earth to replace the\npresent imperfect ones. In this new reality there would no longer be any sea,\nthe sea in old cogmogenic tradition of cosmic origins being the site of\nprimordial chaos, the dwelling place of the powers of the abyss and the enemy\nof divine power. The \u201choly city and the new Jerusalem\u201d, and the bride of Christ\nare the Church in her ultimate heavenly existence. The city has no temple,\nsince as will be said later (21:22) its temple is God himself and the Lamb. The\npeople of God will then have no experience of pain or worry. These will belong\nto the past and the world of the past will have gone. God will have made all\nthings new.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gospel <\/em>(John 13:31-35).\nI give you a new commandment: love one\nanother.<\/em> The depth of this reading is best understood when set in its\nimmediate context, which is Jesus\u2019 last meal with his disciples, a setting\ncharacterized by Jesus\u2019 immense love for his disciples and the world. The\nsection begins thus (John 13:1). \u201cBefore the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing\nthat his hour had come to pass from this world to his Father, having loved those\nwho were his in the world, loved them to the end\u201d. \u201cHis own\u201d were his disciples\nthen with him, but also his disciples through all ages of history. To indicate\nwhat love meant for Jesus the narrative goes on to recount the washing of the\ndisciples’ feet, its import made clear by Jesus himself: \u201cIf I, then, Lord and\nMaster, have washed your feet, you must wash each other’s feet. I have given\nyou an example so that you may copy what I have done to you\u201d. There follows the\naccount of Judas\u2019 exit to betray him, leading to Jesus\u2019 crucifixion. For John\nthis is really Jesus\u2019 glorification, and the glory of his Father. Jesus is soon\nto depart, but before doing so he leaves his followers a new commandment: to\nlove another, as he has loved them, in a loving service that will have them\nknown as his disciples.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

B. Reflection & Dialogue<\/em><\/strong>: A New Heaven and\nNew Earth yet to come. The kingdom\n of God already present.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. New Heaven and New\nEarth. <\/em>One of the articles of the Creed is that we believe in life\neverlasting, where the just enjoy the presence of God in the Beatific Vision,\nthe trials, persecutions and worries of this present life behind them. It is\nobvious to believers, and has been down the centuries, that this world cannot\nbe as God would have it. Paul has said as much to the Romans (Romans 8:20-23):\n\u201cFor the creation was subjected to futility, not of\nits own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21<\/sup>that the creation itself will be set free from its\nbondage to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of\nGod. 22<\/sup>We know that the whole creation has been groaning in\nlabour pains until now; 23<\/sup>and not only the\ncreation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan\ninwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies\u201d. There arose\nthe belief that after history had run its course, there would be a new\ncreation, as expressed in the Second Letter of Peter (<\/em>2 Peter 3:13): \u201c13<\/sup>But, in accordance\nwith his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness\nis at home.\u201d This belief is also clearly expressed in today\u2019s second reading\n(from John\u2019s Apocalypse). The Church takes note of this expectation, both in\nthe Pastoral Constitution on the Church\nin the Modern World<\/em> (Gaudium et Spes<\/em>\n,\u201cJoy and Hope\u201d), paragraph 39,2, with the reminder that rather than take from,\nit should add to, our concern for the world in which we live: \u201cTherefore,\nwhile we are warned that it profits a person nothing if he gain the whole world\nand lose himself, the expectation of a new earth must not weaken but rather\nstimulate our concern for cultivating this one. For here grows the body of a\nnew human family, a body which even now is able to give some kind of\nforeshadowing of the new age\u201d, themes taken up in the Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em> (no. 1049).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. The kingdom of God is among us.<\/em> The expectation of a new heaven and a new earth should not lead us to forget that the kingdom of God is already active among us. At his baptism Jesus was anointed with the Holy Spirit and in the power of this Spirit went around doing good, destroying the power of Satan, healing the sick, bringing hope and comfort. He himself plainly said that this activity was a sign that the kingdom of God was among us. Humanity would be transformed by the presence of his grace and the spirit of the Beatitudes. His kingdom would mean care for one another after his example and his command. He made this clear by washing the feet of his disciples and his explanation of the meaning of this. \u201cI have given you an example\u201d. He came to bring life in its fullness, life here and life hereafter. This life was about one\u2019s soul, one\u2019s true inner self, with a knowledge of the meaning of life and the handling of trials. Despite occasional lapses, the Church, that is t he body of believers, has been true to the message of the kingdom preached by Jesus. The same message is still proclaimed in the Easter liturgy, as in the following text from one of the prefaces for the Easter Mass: when Christ our Passover has been sacrificed: \u201cFor with he old order destroyed, a universe cast down is renewed, and integrity of life is restored to us in Christ. Therefore, overcome with paschal joy, every land, every people exults in your praise and even the heavenly Powers, with the angelic hosts, sing together the unending hymn of your glory, as they acclaim: Holy, Holy, Holy\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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